


A Thousand Teeth, Yours Among Them

by cuddleslutloki



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bottom Loki (Marvel), Canon-Typical Violence, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), M/M, Pining, Possessive Thor (Marvel), Rough Sex, Top Thor (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 05:18:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14888363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuddleslutloki/pseuds/cuddleslutloki
Summary: The war with Jotunheim has ended, and as a matter of diplomacy a young half-Jotun prince comes to live in Asgard.





	A Thousand Teeth, Yours Among Them

Thor knew in hindsight only that he was helpless the moment Loki walked through the palace doors. At first all he saw was Laufey; all twenty and more feet of him as he crouched through the main door into the hall. Loki was tiny, miniscule even, next to his father.

Diplomatic relations with Jotunheim had been cold and quiet, which suited the Jotun, but was displeasing to Odin. He proposed that the third son of Laufey-king could study seiðr with the best Asgard had to offer. Thor knew from rumors that Loki wasn’t full Jotun, and that he wasn’t well-loved by his father. No word of whether his brothers cared, just that his father would rather see him die than stay in the frozen wastes of Jotunheim.

Thor looked away from Laufey and began to study his son. Loki was Thor’s own height, tall enough in Asgard and tiny in a land of giants. He was as blue-skinned as any Jotun, his eyes a bright shade of red.

Laufey approached the throne and actually managed a slight bow to the Allfather. “Here, Odin, you can have the half-breed runt. If you take him, I promise peace between our realms.”

Loki didn’t react to the names, to the insinuation that he was such a burden that unloading him into a foreign court was enough to curb the Jotun craving for war. He kept his face even as his own father abandoned him among strangers and those who used to be enemies.

Thor looked at his father and knew at once that his own displeasure was shared. Thor caught the eyes of the young Jotun and let himself be studied. Loki didn’t look frightened or panicked. He actually didn’t look like he was even present.

Odin stood from his throne. “We welcome Loki-prince into our court and into our home. We’ve heard tales of your work with seiðr and we are excited to have the young master study with us. You may teach us a thing or two in your time here.”

Laufey raised an eyebrow, and didn’t linger long after the formailites were over. Thor’s anger began to ebb only once the bifrost cracked open and sent Laufey back to the ice.

If Loki had any feelings or emotions he kept them so well hidden he may as well have been dead. Thor was tasked with escorting him to his new room, all of his luggage had previously been brought in and unloaded.

Their rooms were connected by a communal bathing chamber, the doors open to where Thor could see his own room if he looked. In truth, Thor gave up his sitting room and library so that their newest arrival wouldn’t have to be alone.

Odin had commended him on his grace, and Frigga had smiled so wide Thor could have burst open in the face of their bright pride. Now, as he guided Loki into the bedroom filled with shelves and shelves of books, he knew what a luxury he had.

Loki turned and looked around at the towering shelves, his eyes finally doing something other than blankly staring. They seemed to come to life, and for the first time, he spoke. “This wasn’t originally a bedroom.”

Thor shook his head. “This was my sitting room and personal library. It’s yours, now. There is a bathing chamber to the left of the doors, and from there our rooms are connected.”

Loki whipped around to face him and sneered. “I am to be watched and guarded?”

Thor lifted his hands and couldn’t school his face, his confusion bled through. “Nothing of the sort, Loki-prince. I thought it unkind to drop you off alone in a strange palace, secluded from anyone who could keep you company. That’s all. A kindness.”

Loki’s brows pulled together and his lips pursed. “A kindness.”

Thor nodded, letting his hands drop. “Feel free to come to my room whenever you need. Night or day. I know the adjustment will be hard on you.”

Loki scoffed, but he seemed to be relaxing. “Jotunheim was hard on me. Asgard cannot be any harder.”

Thor swallowed roughly, memories of Laufey playing in his mind. How a father could just drop their own child into a foreign land like unwanted refuse was not something Thor could hope to understand.

“I know you may not like us, Loki, but I would hope to be your friend.” Thor smiled at him, ignoring how confused Loki seemed at the gesture. His blue skin was gorgeous against the light of the setting sun.

Loki regarded him a moment longer before turning away. “Thank you, Odinson.”

Thor took his leave without speaking, finding his own chambers beyond the bathing room.

The first night passed, and Thor would never speak of how he could hear Loki weeping in the darkness.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Quick months passed and Loki was by far the most talented student in the palace. Frigga took to teaching him personally, and Odin expressed his pride openly through feasts. Loki seemed uncomfortable, but never complained about any of it.

Thor hadn’t seen much of him or spoken much aside from passing each other by in the morning. Until, that was, Loki showed up in his room just before dawn, a brightly polished dagger in his hand. The whole weapon was metal, the handle wrapped with a dark green leather lace. It was simple, nothing ornately carved or gem-studded. A beautiful weapon, truly.

Loki held the blade and extended the handle to Thor, who didn’t hesitate the grab it. “Did you make this?”

“No,” Loki said, “but I did enchant it. The queen taught me a new spell. This blade will never leave your side, Odinson.”

Thor smiled and tucked it into his belt. “Thank you, Loki. You know, you can call me by my first name.”

Loki shrugged and said nothing, but let his eyes linger on the dagger at Thor’s hip. “You like it, then?”

Thor nodded. “I love getting weapons as gifts. They show thought.”

Loki nodded and Thor thought he almost saw a smile forming before Loki turned to retreat to his own chambers. Thor’s hand shot out before he could stop himself, grabbing Loki by the shoulder.

“Wait, we’ve barely spoken since you arrived. Will you break your fast with me?” Thor tried to keep his nervousness out of his smile, but knew he was failing.

Loki turned and studied him for a second, then nodded. “What are we having?”

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

After their initial breakfast, the two couldn’t be separated. Decades passed and Thor’s friends all took to calling Loki his brother, and Thor didn’t try to deny that he felt a kinship and closeness to Loki. Whether Loki appreciated the suggestion or not was something else. He never spoke of his own family and Thor didn’t press. It had been years since Laufey dropped Loki into Asgard without so much as an apology, but Thor still found himself angry about it as time wore on.

Loki didn’t deserve the lack of regard, the disrespect of being called ‘half-breed’ and tossed away. He was brilliant, and he was so beautiful.

Thor stopped in the middle of chewing his food, his eyes snapping to an unaware Loki across the table, who was eating fruit and reading some tome or another. Juice dripped down his chin and Thor felt his skin grow flush.

Well. That could pose a problem.

Loki looked at him minutes later, after Thor had busied himself with stuffing his face to keep from thinking anything else that would ruin breakfast. “You seem famished, Odinson. Tough training yesterday?”

Thor nodded, but said nothing. Loki seemed amused with him, his face soft around a lopsided smile.

“Maybe I should come watch.” Loki said.

Thor stopped and swallowed the food in his mouth, finally gaining some semblance of control over his riotous body. He smiled with his lips closed, sure that he had herbs in his teeth. “Maybe you should.”

Thor could never turn down an opportunity for an audience, and he did want badly to impress Loki.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

The training ground was quiet, no one in the stands except Loki. His blue skin was shining in the sun, and Thor felt a sharp pang of _something_ in his gut. They were nearly grown, and Thor knew enough to know that this deep, huge feeling was going to cause him trouble. He ignored it with a smile and stood between five of the palace guards.

They lunged at him in unison, and Thor laughed as he dodged the staves thrust into his face and knocked one guard too-easily onto his back. Three more were knocked away in quick succession, filing away to the edge of the field to wait for the next bout. Thor heard Loki laugh and felt a joy in his chest rise. The last guard was always the toughest. She was one of Thor’s first trainers, and she knew him the best on the battlefield, but he knew her as well. He learned quickly from broken bones and bruises.

She lunged for him but Thor easily dodged, grabbing the staff and throwing her with it. She twisted and managed a flip to land on her feet. Not out yet, but he had gotten close.

Loki clapped, and more joy and energy rose in Thor’s blood from it. He gripped the staff tightly and felt the wood yielding to his strength. It splintered in his grip, then broke entirely and he tossed his opponent one half while he kept the other.

Thor didn’t look to Loki, he knew better than to take his eyes off of his opponent, but he could feel Loki watching him.

The last guard yelled and ran for him, and Thor let the joy in his chest overflow and he slammed the staff into her side. Then, suddenly, it wasn’t just his happiness that was pouring out of him. A blast sent her back, and lightning made the wood in his hands burst apart from the inside. Thunder cracked so loudly as to deafen as a fresh and vicious storm began rolling in above them. The guard recoiled, and Thor looked at his hands like they did not belong to him.

What was this?

Lightning rolled over his skin, scorching the ground and his clothing. Everyone was backing away from him and Thor felt disgusted by their fear. Then Loki filled his vision, blue hands so cold on his cheeks as he held Thor’s face.

His bright eyes didn’t look worried or afraid, rather Loki looked excited.

“Thor!” Loki was smiling at him, and Thor let go of the disgust that had coiled into his stomach. “Thor that was incredible! But you need to control this or you may hurt someone. Here,” Loki put a hand to his stomach, “breathe from here and feel the energy inside you dissipate.”

Thor reached out and clung to Loki, closing his eyes and doing as told. It felt like joy and rage inside of him, this energy that spilled out. Never before had Thor commanded lightning without Mjolnir in his hand, and he was eternally grateful Loki came to watch him. To help him.

Within moments Thor was calmed, the lightning pulled back from his skin. Still, the storm came, and the rains poured harder than in any season of Asgard’s history.

With the rain beating down on his overheated skin, Thor realized dimly that it was the first time Loki called him by his first name.

Loki smiled at him, and Thor almost thought that Loki looked proud of him.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

The tale was told during dinner, Loki crafting verse that could be sung and resung. Odin gave a toast and congratulated him on beginning a new journey toward mastering his power.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Three hundred years after Loki’s arrival, and their separate rooms had grown into one shared space. Loki’s books and clothes were everywhere, as were Thor’s. Their boundaries wore dangerously thin as the years dragged on. They ate breakfast in peace every morning. Well, maybe not in peace. In bickering, in arguing, in laughter and joy.

Loki was taught a glamor to hide his Jotun skin and had taken to wearing it everyday, except in their rooms. Thor revelled in being allowed to see Loki in this way. His skin was growing darker as he got older, a rich color of dusky blue that made Thor’s mouth water. Loki’s eyes got brighter over time, the red of them sparkling when he was happy, and turning to blood when he was angry.

The feelings Thor had come to recognize as a love separate from friendship or brotherhood had never abated. To his credit, he was patient. He never felt the need to push at what they had. He wondered if Loki reciprocated, thought sometimes he did when Loki would brush a hand over his chest and shoulders, or when Loki developed the habit of kissing Thor on the cheek.

Still, nothing was said by either of them.

Thor trained and mastered his lightning with Mjolnir in his hand, and Loki became so well-versed in seiðr that Frigga proclaimed he’d learned all he could within Asgard’s wondrous halls.

Loki took a bite from a golden apple and smiled as juice ran down his chin, a motion that Thor couldn’t help watching. When he looked back Loki was watching him with a raised eyebrow. There was no excuse Thor could make, so he didn’t. He raised an eyebrow in response and delighted in Loki’s approving grin.

“We should travel,” Loki said, “we should see the other realms and learn what we cannot be taught here.”

Thor smiled and nodded. “Where should we go?”

Loki shrugged. “Anywhere. We can take the bifrost… or there are other ways.”

Thor frowned. “Other ways?”

The wicked curl of Loki’s lips made Thor’s stomach flip. “How much do you trust me, Thor?”

“With my life,” he answered without hesitation.

Loki’s smile was nothing short of triumphant. “Then pack, we have to hurry.”

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

They were beyond Heimdall’s sight, though Thor didn’t know how much he could believe that. The mountains clawed at the sky around them, almost threatening to bring it down to meet the land and seas. Thor didn’t carry much, Loki had magicked their belongings into something like a coin purse, but he still carried his hammer and the dagger Loki gave him so long ago.

A craggy pass had been their way from Asgard. An emergency route, Loki said, not to be used for thousands of years yet, probably not until after they died. It was a way for the people of Asgard to find a new home once Ragnarok came to take them.

Thor frowned, but made himself listen. Loki didn’t get this excited often and it filled Thor with a giddy warmth to listen to the rambling. Normally Loki would compose verse and song when he wanted to be heard. He forced the ears within reach of his voice to bend to him.

Thor never had to be forced. He was proud that he could see Loki relaxed in this way.

Relaxation lasted less than an hour before Thor had to scare off something like a hairless bilgesnipe. Loki had looked not so much terrified as affronted, which amused Thor to no end once the danger passed.

“Only you could look offended over wild beasts.” Thor remarked.

Loki scoffed. “Well, I have lived with you these last few centuries, haven’t I?”

Thor laughed loudly, unrestrained in the growing quiet of the mountains approaching them.

Once they were well within the yawning depths of the mountains Thor felt acutely how small he actually was. It was oddly comforting to be reduced in that way. Like a pressure was removed from him. Here he was no prince. He was a traveller, a warrior, a friend.

A friend. Maybe he could be more, but he was still forcing himself to be patient.

Loki gathered rocks as they went, and plants. Anything that could serve them later. Thor just walked and waited to be useful again. It would be good tracking practice for him, surely, but the trip was more for Loki’s benefit than his own, and he was fine with that.

He spent all his life being served, he could step back and let Loki have his time.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

They may have been beyond Heimdall’s immediate sight, but they were not unseen. Thor knew they were being watched and tracked the moment they set foot in this new realm. Loki seemed un-bothered, but Thor wondered what he saw with his eyes so trained and attuned to magic.

Both of them set up their own protections during the night.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Dawn in this realm was darker than Asgard, but Thor found himself waking all the same. When he did, his heart skipped a beat and his lungs seized. Loki was gone. He steadied himself, the fearful part of his brain shutting down. There was no proof Loki was dead, simply missing. They had been tracked and followed, so whoever took Loki could also be tracked. They could be followed, and found, and killed.

Thor didn’t think too closely over the fact that he would gladly end a life, his first non-Jotun, to get Loki back.

He was not small here, now, on his own. Even in this realm the skies knew him, and thunder roared. He hoped Loki could see the gathering storm.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Thor only needed half a day to track them down. They were good, but he was angry. He didn’t bother to hide his steps as he approached a winding pass, and smiled when arrows flew at him. Lightning arched from Mjolnir and reduced them to ash before they could get within ten paces of him.

Next came spears, and Thor took the effort to catch one to see if he could identify the make. Something from Alfheim, but different. A rogue band, perhaps. Good, then. Thor could kill outlaws who would seek the take what was his.

Thor stopped at the base of a cliff, smoke rolling into the sky from a camp placed on a plateau far above his head.

“You can give him back, or I can come get him! Decide!” Thor waited for the length of the breath it took for thunder to chase a close strike of lightning, then he let Mjolnir guide him through the air.

Two dozen of their number were visible, more surely hidden in the craggy walls that served as the campsite and now arena for battle.

Thor paused a moment when he saw Loki. Blood poured from a thick gash on his head, so dark it almost looked black. His hair was matted against his blue skin, his breathing labored. He was close to passing out from the blood loss.

Thor had seen Jotun blood plenty when he fought with his father, but this was different. It didn’t have the same shimmer to it. No ice formed at the edges of the pools. Though that could have simply been that they weren’t in Jotunheim.

A man approached in measured steps, his head held high. The leader. Thor would delight in strangling him if given the chance.

“Who are you?” The rogue asked. His skin was ashen gray, his face covered in scars.

“I am Thor Odinson. You will give him back to me.” Thor gestured to Loki with his hammer.

The scarred man sneered. “Odinson? Why does the son of Odin, slayer of a thousand giants, storm-bringer, travel with a Jotun runt?”

Thor caught Loki’s bleary eye and smiled. Lightning fell into the camp as a flood of light and the deafening roar of thunder tearing the mountain to pieces. He ran through the strikes and grabbed Loki as countless fell to his rage.

Loki was unconscious by the time Thor grabbed him, his body too light. Thor screamed as he took them away toward the passage to Asgard. They were pursued, even as they ran. This barren realm was more hostile than either of them knew. There would be more waiting for him, and Loki couldn’t afford to wait for him to fight his way out on his own.

Thor touched down on a clear spot of land, Loki gathered in one arm and his hammer ready in his opposite hand. He could feel Heimdall’s eyes on him now, clearly drawn by Thor's rage, but did not feel the crack of the bifrost above. His lips curled. They would wait for his call.

He gently set Loki onto the ground and stood to face the horde that gave chase. They hadn’t gained much ground yet, their war beasts slower than the storms that had carried Thor and Loki away. He took quick steps around Loki and let everything fall from his mind as he turned the open field into a mass grave.

By the time he called for the bifrost to open, Thor had more blood on him than could have ever been spilled from Loki in a lifetime, and his rage was quieted.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Odin added another title to Thor’s name during the subsequent feast.

Berserker.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Loki was angry that he’d managed to drop one of the flowers he’d collected during the trip, and nearly stabbed Thor when he tried to apologize.

The trip was not the worst either had seen in life, so they left the troubles quickly behind them.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Except when they didn’t. Loki woke screaming every night once they returned, and Thor could hardly sleep at all even during the quiet.

They would find each other in the night, grasping to each other’s arms and shoulders. Proof.

The first night they stayed up talking. The second they both read. On the third, they retired to Loki’s bed because it had the most cover since Loki blocked it off with curtains and magic.

They slept like that, close by and reassured that they were not alone.

They broke their fast from the comfort of their shared bed.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Sharing a bed grew from a habit of comfort to a routine, and as they spent more and more of their private time together, Thor found the hard-won patience of his youth to be faltering. He would dream in the night of things he could scarcely consider in the day.

Several times he woke to a mess on the sheets, his body slicked in sweat. Loki grumbled and cleaned it with magic. That made something in him ache. It was so easy, no barrier broken by it. Loki would probably never guess who the dreams were about.

Thor never said anything when they both rose to meet the day.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

He asked for a lock of Loki’s hair one afternoon in the library and was shocked at how easily his request was granted.

“What’s the worst you could do?” Loki seemed more amused than anything.

Thor felt the ever-growing ache in his chest abate for a moment as he smiled and braided the lock in with his own hair.

Loki narrowed his eyes, letting them flash red for just a moment. “Careful, Thor, you may begin to dream of me.”

Thor choked on his own tongue.

Neither mentioned it again, but Loki would occasionally grab at the mixed braid during breakfasts.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Loki stared at him after they’d laid down in bed, and Thor found it in himself to be annoyed. He didn’t hate being watched, but he didn’t like this staring when he was trying to sleep.

“What is it, Loki?” He couldn’t muster the energy for annoyance, but he knew Loki could sense it.

“Do you remember being sick on the battlefield in Jotunheim?” Loki asked.

Thor’s eyes flew open. “What?”

He rolled onto his side and stared into darkening red eyes. The sickness was something he could never forget. Blood poured from his mouth when he retched, and he’d almost died. It was the sickness that nearly cost him his life in the war, such a simple thing bringing him to his knees when no Jotun had ever managed it.

Loki sighed. “I made that sickness.”

Thor propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at Loki in the dark. “You made it? How do you mean?”

“With seiðr. I strung it together with curses. Laufey said if we were to win the war, then you could not remain on the field.” Loki looked away from him, toward the wall, the ceiling, then down into the sheets. Anywhere but Thor’s face.

“The look on your face says that’s not the worst of it. So what is?” Thor wasn’t angry, not anymore. The war was centuries ago, and Loki was so different now.

“The curse wasn’t meant just for you. We wanted to incapacitate you, yes, to kill you, but we wanted first to force Odin to send you back to Asgard. The curses would be unlocked by the bifrost.” Loki took a deep breath. “It was meant to spread.”

Thor thought about how badly he’d wanted to return home when he was sick. The field medics had almost smuggled him back to Asgard, but Odin always kept them grounded.

Thor swallowed a lump in his throat. “You meant to slaughter Asgard with infection.”

Loki nodded. “We busied ourselves with looking for the opening of the bifrost once you stopped coming to the field. First it was just me. Then myself and my brothers. Laufey joined. Then our guards joined the watch. We were so looking forward to victory, looking for the fissure to tear our skies open, that we didn’t look after our armories.”

Thor exhaled sharply. “The casket.”

Loki hummed an affirmation. “Odin stole our most prized weapon even as we sought to steal his most prized warrior. The bifrost never opened. You got better. We lost.”

“You did almost kill me. Father fed me a potion so cold I felt my insides freeze, and by the time I was better the war was won.” Thor let his arm fall from under him, flopping onto his side.

Loki was silent for a moment, unmoving.

“I made the antidote that saved you.” He said.

Thor caught his eyes. “Why?”

Loki shrugged. “I hated Laufey, and I resented the idiocy that let such a powerful weapon escape us.”

Thor snorted. “You saved me out of spite. That sounds like you.”

Loki smacked him over the head with a pillow. The war was left in the night as they fell asleep.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

After seventy five more years, Loki was catching on. It was such a short amount of time for Thor to lose his control, but he couldn’t stop it even as it was happening.

Wet dreams turned into guilt-laden, silent self-pleasure. That turned into just the silent self-pleasure and none of the guilt. May as well make a decision and live with it for what it is than torture one’s self for desire.

Loki would look at him with a flat, unimpressed stare. “I had to clean come out of the sheets again, you brute. I’m going to start doing this to you, and you’ll just have to live with it.”

Thor laughed and knew the threat empty every time it was leveled. Loki liked chaos, but he hated clutter and mess.

Still. Thor found his reaction less humored and more hungry each time Loki threatened him.

Eventually the taunts turned to something else.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Loki would say, sipping tea.

Thor never replied. He couldn’t trust his tongue against Loki’s. They knew each other far too well.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Thor was discovered too quickly. Too easily. Loki was too smart for him sometimes, too accustomed.

“By the Norns, what do you dream of when you come so hard at night?” Loki wasn’t one to let a thing like tact keep breakfast peaceful.

Thor grimaced and knew he couldn’t stay quiet. Again.

“Just. Pleasure, alright?” Thor knew it was the wrong thing to say, but he was too tired to joke about it and properly deflect.

Loki made a face at him, confused and suspicious. “Since when do you not revel in your pleasures?”

Thor sighed, and this time kept his mouth shut.

“Oh come on, Thor,” Loki began, “I hear tell of your exploits. Plenty of maidens and knights alike whisper of you. They say you have rather a nice tongue.”

Thor glared and shoved a piece of honey cake into his mouth, speaking around it. “Leave it, Loki.”

“You seem to so offended by it. What, do you dream of me?” Loki had a grin on his face, light and perfect on his blue lips.

Thor froze and swallowed his food, he couldn’t raise his eyes from the table. He was caught, and he was so tired of lying by omission. So tired of fighting. So tired of hiding. He let himself be trapped in Loki’s sharp gaze.

Loki actually gasped once the understanding sunk in. “Thor?”

Thor raised his eyes, forcing himself to confront the consequences of the silent admission. “Loki, understand—”

“I do.” Loki’s voice was so soft that Thor almost thought it a whisper. “How long?”

Thor took a long drink of the tea Loki had prepared for them, steeling himself to see the conversation through as surely as any battle.

“Since the beginning.” Thor laid his hands flat on the table, arms spread wide. He was so exposed he couldn’t help but feel like this was his first surrender.

Loki regarded him, studying. “But. How long before the dreams?”

Thor tilted his head back and took a deep breath through his nose. “The beginning, maybe?”

“You mean when we weren’t even men yet? When Laufey dropped off a half-breed Jotun runt who wouldn’t even call you by name?” Loki’s voice rose slightly, sharp and disbelieving.

Thor’s shoulders dropped and his head snapped forward. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s true. It’s what I am.” Loki was barking it at him more than speaking. “A half-breed. A runt. A traitor to his homeland.”

Thor ground his jaw. “I will not have this discussion with you if you cannot restrain from bringing Laufey’s words into it.”

Loki balked at him, his body falling back until he was slouching in his chair. They just stared at each other for a moment. Neither could move except to breathe.

Finally, Loki picked up his cup and finished his own tea. “You know. I always prided myself that you returned to our bed no matter who you sank your cock into.”

Thor flinched from the venom in Loki’s voice, even as he knew it wasn’t directed at him. He picked up and finished his own tea, more to have an excuse to not speak than anything else. The only time Thor drank tea was if Loki made it.

Loki clicked his tongue. “I can’t believe you would want this.”

He gestured at himself dismissively, and Thor found himself stunned at the depth of Loki’s self-hatred. It was obvious Loki wasn’t fond of himself, but Thor loved him so much that he couldn’t ever consider how anyone could truly hate him, especially Loki himself. Loki was his world. Loki began his mornings and ended his nights. Thor wanted to open the bifrost and sink Mjolnir into Laufey’s skull until shining, blue blood stained the metal for the rest of time.

Loki broke the silence again. “I knew the braid wasn’t to mourn me, but I never knew your actual intention.”

Thor grabbed the braid and ran his fingers over it, then put his hand back onto the table. He had maintained it for almost a century, getting new hair from Loki when it got ruined during a rough hunting trip.

“What intention would you prefer?” Thor asked, eyes never straying from Loki’s.

It was Loki’s turn for silence, half of a honey cake shoved into his mouth while he studied Thor’s face with a furrowed brow. He swallowed, then drank water. Then ate the rest of the cake.

Thor simply watched, content to wait for whatever course Loki would have them take.

Loki swallowed the rest of his cake and tilted his head. “You’re actually serious.”

“Of course.” Thor answered.

Loki laughed humorlessly. “You know the court wonders why I don’t have my own room yet. It’s been over four-hundred years and we still share this space. What do you think will happen if you take me—”

“Is there some part of me that has ever given you the impression of caring what the court thinks?” Thor put an edge into his voice that he knew would end that path before it began. He would not entertain his life to be dictated by court. Not in this.

Loki raised an eyebrow at him, a small grin starting to play at his lips. God of mischief he was, after all, and it would be a great trick to stir the court into a frenzy.

Still, he hesitated, and Thor watched as silent conversations played out behind Loki’s eyes.

After another moment Loki sat straighter in his chair again, his red eyes downcast. “I guess I could look presentable. The glamor is easy enough.”

“No,” Thor said it with more force than he meant, and tried to soften his tone as he continued, “I will not have you hide.”

Loki’s eyes snapped up to his again, then narrowed. “I am a Jotun. You would have me with my blue skin and red eyes, looking every bit Asgard’s enemy?”

Thor’s fingers began to dig in to the table. “I would have you as you are. I do not love a lie, so I would prefer not to be given one.”

Loki actually smiled at that, for just a moment before he could school his features again. “Well. You’ve certainly made up your mind.”

Thor’s hands relaxed, and his body sagged as tension bled from him. “I’m waiting for you.”

“How badly do you want me, Thor?” Loki’s lips curled into the start of the slow torturous grin he had when he was devising a trap.

Thor felt fire ignite in his belly. A test. He loved tests.

“What would you bid me do?” Thor asked.

Loki’s slow grin spread into a full, wicked smile. “I don't want you to think this is some kind of bribe or deal. I do want you, but I want to give myself to a king. Not a prince.”

Thor’s brows furrowed. “Well, I can’t kill my father, if that’s what you mean.”

Loki scoffed and his grin slipped back into the familiar, unimpressed line Thor knew too well. “How boring do you think me to be?”

Thor snorted. “You’re speaking in riddles, Loki, just tell me what you’d have from me.”

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed. “You’ve certainly no sense of style for these things, do you? Fine. Summon lightning.”

Thor tilted his head and turned his palms up from where they rested on the table. “I do that every day.”

Loki’s grin slithered back onto his face. “Without. Mjolnir.”

Thor’s face fell slack. “Oh.”

“Yes, oh.” Loki rested his chin on one hand, waiting as Thor processed the request.

Thor nodded. “Alright.”

“That easy?” Loki asked.

“Of course it’s not that easy. I’ve had my hammer for nearly a thousand years. I have no idea where to begin, but if this is how you would have me prove myself and my love for you, I will do it.” Thor swept a hand through the air, finality in his tone.

Loki grinned at him, openly affectionate. “I’m so glad you’re stubborn.”

Thor rolled his eyes and chuckled, head shaking. “Of course you are, I get to make half of your trouble that way.”

“Only about a third.” Loki replied.

“Mm, it’s a large third, then.” Thor said, then looked off toward their bed. “You won’t force us to separate as I begin this task, will you?”

“And wake up screaming every night? I think not. I like my sleep undisturbed. Even if you do get come on me half the time.” Loki popped a piece of sliced stone fruit into his mouth.

Thor felt his face flush and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was getting it on you.”

Loki made a neutral noise and shrugged one shoulder. “You’re a god of fertility, you can hardly help it.”

Thor shoved another honey cake into his mouth. Loki was so strangely accepting of all the wrong things sometimes.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Thor started in the library. He found the only book out of thousands that actually spoke of Mjolnir by itself. Even then, it was only on how the hammer was made, not what it did.

Though maybe they were the same thing, and Thor didn't know better.

He kept rereading the passages, taking notes and writing half a journal worth of theories and observations.

Loki watched him with an amused smile on his pretty blue face.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Thor went so far as to memorize every word written before he gave up on reading. It wasn’t Mjolnir that he needed to focus on, but what he called with it. The lightning was seiðr but it wasn't something he'd ever leaned in a book. He leaned in rage and in joy.

The only time he'd summoned lightning without Mjolnir was centuries ago and despite his father's praise at the time he'd yet to make another move toward further mastery.

His friends took note of his frustration, Fandral eyeing Thor sidelong during a break in training.

“So,” Fandral began, “we all know you didn’t mean to break Volstagg’s arm. You’re normally more controlled than that. What’s going on?”

Sif’s eyebrows shot up to her forehead and she and Hogun shared a look. They said nothing. Thor felt cornered.

He sighed and let himself fall onto his back in the grass. “I’m… frustrated.”

Sif snorted. “Clearly. By what?”

Thor wasn’t sure where to begin, so he just went straight to the point. “I’ve been trying to find a way to summon lightning without Mjolnir.”

No one said anything for a beat, but Thor knew they were all sharing looks, talking without speaking.

Finally, Fandral broke the silence. “Huh, well, how do you plan to do that?”

Thor growled. “I have no idea. I’ve only done it once, and it was an accident at the time.”

Hogun hummed. “When Loki watched you train.”

There was a time when Thor would be deflective or defensive, but instead he just nodded and sighed.

Sif made a noise to catch his attention. “Well, how have you been trying?”

“I wait for a natural storm and feel the energy, but I can’t summon it into myself like I can with Mjolnir.” Thor let more of his fatigue over the issue into his voice than he meant to.

“Why are you doing this?” Hogun asked.

Thor swallowed roughly and sat back up, looking at the three of them. “I… Loki asked it of me.”

Sif’s eyes widened, Fandral’s mouth dropped open, and Hogun just stared at him.

Volstagg plopped down next to them in the grass, his arm freshly healed. “What’s Loki having you do?”

Sif answered, “he’s asked Thor to summon lightning without his hammer.”

Volstagg laughed. “Ah, you’re courting him finally!”

Thor’s head dropped forward. Perhaps they’d been too obvious around each other.

“I am.” Thor answered, eyes staring down into the grass.

Volstagg clapped him on the back. “Well, it’s been four hundred years, it’s time someone made a move!”

Fandral laughed. “Oh, who wins the bet, then?”

Thor’s head snapped up. “Bet?”

Sif’s face lit up in excitement. “I won! Less than five hundred years, that means I win!”

Hogun looked unimpressed. “If you’d held off a decade more, I could have won.”

“What bet? What in the Hel are you all talking about?” Thor wondered if he looked as crazed as he sounded.

Fandral gave him an almost pitying look. “Thor, when Loki came in the great hall the first day, you looked at him like it was the first time you’d been able to breathe in your life.”

Volstagg hummed in agreement. “Enough about the past, now, Thor needs help!”

Sif grabbed her dagger from her hip. “Thor, would you be able to summon lightning with any weapon, or is it only Mjolnir?”

Thor opened his mouth, then closed it. “I’m not sure.”

She passed the dagger to him, and he took it with careful fingers. “The hammer is just a weapon, right? Same as any. Maybe that’s where you start.”

Thor smiled. “Sif, thank you. I actually have a weapon I think I’ll start with.”

He twirled the dagger for a moment, then gave it back to her and left the field with the four of them giving him such earnest looks he felt like he could conquer anything.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

In the mountains the only sounds were those of nature. Birds, animals, the rivers that cut down and flowed out of Asgard. Thor held the knife Loki gifted him centuries ago and let himself relax.

He knew he couldn’t fight against himself. It would happen. Somehow. At some point.

The old patience he’d had before was back, but for a different purpose.

Thor let his mind wander and thought, not for the first or even fifth time, about the training where he’d pulled lighting from inside himself. He could remember the feeling of Loki watching him and how much joy had filled him. It was just after he and Loki became friends. Right after Loki had given him the dagger he now held in his hands.

Over time the leather had worn soft, and Thor couldn’t help playing with the frayed edges. He’d never used this dagger, not really, but he kept it with him always.

Memories flashed through his mind of the triumph he felt when Loki began to open up to him. A long-fought battle where the tide was turning in his favor. Thor smiled and felt something in his chest.

He took a breath and let the feeling expand. There. Something light and bursting.

Thor tried to push the feeling through his hands, unsure of how to move it.

A small spark of static snapped against his finger from the edge of the dagger’s blade. Thor smiled. A start.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Loki was more tactile than he’d ever been, curling into Thor’s side at night. For all he complained before about Thor’s come splashing on him, it seemed like he was actually trying to get dirty with it now.

Thor felt more static building in his fingers when he thought about that.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Odin saw him practicing during a family dinner one night and grinned. It was nothing, not compared to the first time. Thor could only summon the tiniest sparks to his fingertips, but only if he held something metal. Still, he would take progress as it came.

“So,” Odin said, “you’re starting to explore your power.”

Thor nodded and stopped for a moment, stabbing at a piece of roasted potato on his plate. Normally Loki would have joined them, but he was stuck in the library and wouldn’t be moved by god or mortal.

Frigga hummed softly, a smile on her lips. “Why now, my son?”

Thor felt his throat tighten, unsure of what to say, before Odin laughed. “It’s Loki, isn’t it?”

Thor groaned and dropped his fork. “By the Norns, is there anyone who doesn’t know?”

Odin smiled. “Don’t despair, you’re only obvious to those who know you well. Loki asked this of you, then?”

Thor nodded and said nothing. He took a deep drink of warm summer mead and tried to steady himself.

Silence fell over the table, neither of his parents speaking before he did. Thor gathered himself and pushed words out despite the hammering of his heart.

“I love him.” Thor said.

“Yes. Terrifying, isn’t it?” Odin asked.

Thor’s entire frame deflated and he nodded harshly. “I didn’t understand what it was at first. Now I do and I’d…”

Frigga laid her hand over his when his sentence died off. “Don’t try to think too hard, Thor. We have long lives, you have time.”

He let the comfort of her touch wash over him and felt the rabbit-fast pace of his heart slow. They loved him, and they loved Loki, so they were glad. Thor could see that much.

Odin poured more mead into Thor’s drinking horn. “Tell me, my son, why do you think I had Loki brought here?”

Thor’s brow furrowed. “Because he saved my life during the war. You were repaying a debt, since Laufey would have surely murdered him if he ever knew.”

Odin smiled. “Loki told you, then? I figured he would. But that’s not why. I brought him here because he has a talent, and he has a heart. He may be a Jotun, but he has a heart filled with the same fire as an Aesir warrior. I knew you two would get along.”

Thor looked at his father, the Allfather, wise and ruthless king, nearly omniscient.

“You planned this?” He asked in a quiet voice.

Odin shook his head. “Not this exactly, but I’m not surprised. Loki was rejected at his birth for his size, called sickly, and left in a temple to freeze to death. Laufey thought that because he’s only half-Jotun that he would not survive. But, as an infant, Loki wove a powerful spell to protect himself. He cried through the night and on til morning. The priests of the temple finally took him back to Laufey and told him what happened.”

Odin stopped at the first snap of electricity.

Thor’s teeth ground together as sparks flew to his fork, his knife, his plate, without his control. “We should have killed Laufey.”

Odin sighed and waited for Thor’s rage to ebb. Then he continued, “after that night, Laufey took Loki in, but only as a weapon. He wanted Loki for a tool, not for an heir. Loki is Laufey’s oldest son in truth, but he would never have the throne of Jotunheim.”

Thor stared at his food, his appetite lost to his anger. He wanted to erase any part of Loki’s past that had left him with the self-hatred he carefully hid.

“I don’t want it.” Loki’s voice broke the silence.

Thor whipped around in his chair to see Loki approaching quietly, taking his usual spot at Thor’s side. The rage in him fell away and he was left with sorrow. Loki didn’t look at him, only carefully took small portions of food and drink. His skin was pink, his eyes green.

Frigga gave Odin a pointed look, who gave one right back. Frigga sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Thor is making progress with his powers.” She said, a light change of subject.

The corner of Loki’s mouth turned up as he looked at Thor. “You have? You didn’t tell me.”

Thor shrugged and demonstrated with his fork. “It’s not much. But I’m learning.”

Loki’s eyes brightened, and Thor forgot all about his rage and sorrow. That past was as good as dead now.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Loki kissed him, really kissed him, when Thor could roll lightning over his fingers without needing to channel it through anything else. Thor was practicing idly next to the bath as it filled with water.

He watched the way it danced across his knuckles and focused more and more on where the power was within himself. It started in his spine, reaching out and through him until it condensed in his hands.

Thor was halfway through tracking the flow of energy in his body when Loki stepped right up between his arms and kissed him hard on the lips. He was surprised, but fell into this kiss within a breath. Soft hands cradled his face, Loki taking a gentle nip at his lower lip before pulling back.

“How do you feel about your power?” Loki asked.

“It’s not enough yet.” Thor answered honestly.

Loki gave a soft _tsk_ and managed a pout. “You’d make me wait longer?”

Thor smiled and let out a long breath. “You know it’s not enough yet.”

A smirk lifted one corner of Loki’s mouth. “Oh, I know, but I did figure you could use some gentle encouragement.”

The last word was punctuated by Loki grabbing his soft cock with gentle fingers.

Thor felt himself respond too quickly, his body alight again as electricity jumped from one of his hands to the surface of the water next to him. When he was half hard Loki let go with a small chuckle.

Another arc snapped out, this time from his shoulder to the ceiling.

Thor took a deep breath to calm himself. “You’re evil, you know that?”

Loki laughed openly. “No, I’m perfectly neutral.”

Thor leaned into Loki, who hadn’t moved even an inch away. “You’re mine.”

Something in Loki’s eyes shifted, and he licked his lips. “Almost.”

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Thor retreated to the mountain again, this time no weapons present. He hiked his way up instead of having Mjolnir lift him. There was something in him saying it was time, and he didn’t want anything clouding this moment.

The sun rose slowly over the horizon, and Thor’s breath caught as he regarded his home from afar. A love deeply rooted in his soul filled him as his eyes scanned the city. Millions of people. His people. Loki among them.

Thor smiled and closed his eyes, a biting morning wind whipping past him he stilled himself and felt his power overflow.

A charge filled the air, dust making static when it got too close to him. Finally, with a long exhale, Thor pushed the power into his hand and felt it strike the ground beneath his feet. He’d grown to know himself and his power. It grew steadily in months that had passed by so quickly he could scarcely tell them apart.

The more power he poured out from his hand the more he could feel building. Thunder rolled in the distance and Thor laughed as he heard it. A storm. He was calling it with nothing more than his breath.

“This might be the day.” Loki’s voice cut through everything.

Thor opened his eyes and turned around, the electricity from his hand surging and scorching a line across the earth. Loki was standing naked in front of him. It was a double, clearly, but it was him anyway. He showed his true skin, the lines of his markings winding around his torso in paths Thor wanted to memorize with his tongue.

The surge of power was building, and the clouds overhead grew darker.

Thor nodded, his eyes roaming over the beautiful form of Loki in front of him. “This is the day.”

Loki smiled and stretched his arms above his head, skin drawing taut. His eyes were half-lidded and he moaned.

“Where are you now?” Thor asked.

Lightning fanned out between the clouds overhead, and Thor could feel it in his blood. He knew he could call it.

Loki stepped toward him, more electricity from Thor’s body discharging into the ground. All of it seemed drawn toward Loki’s double, slicing through the image and leaving paths of golden shimmer in the seiðr as it did.

“I’m in your bed. We don’t use it much, and I think that’s a shame.” Loki’s grin was so pleased as to be smug.

Thor felt the tendril of electricity that shot from his head and into the sky, seeking out its own energy in kind. It was reflected in Loki’s shining red eyes.

“You’re here to provoke me.” Thor’s voice was matched by a rumble in the sky

Loki grinned with teeth. “Gentle encouragement. That’s all.”

Thor closed his eyes and let himself go. Lightning struck him, and he felt at peace.

Loki exhaled sharply, and Thor opened his eyes to see something bordering on reverence on his beautiful face. There was no pretense, no tease, just Loki’s naked body and naked expression taking him in.

“Again.” Loki said.

Thor kept his eyes open and called to the storm again, even easier than before. He was struck, as was the illusion of Loki.

“You told me to summon lightning without Mjolnir because you would only give yourself to a king. I would hear you say it now. Am I a king worthy of you?” Thor took a step toward the illusion close enough to reach out and run his hand through it.

Loki reached to him instead, false hands ghosting over Thor’s body. “There’s one last thing I would have.”

“Name it.” Thor made the thunder echo him, lightning scrawling out Loki’s name across the sky.

Loki’s eyes met his, the red so bright it was almost burning. “Show me the power you showed on the mountain, when you killed more than three score of Alfish bandits who dared to touch what’s yours.”

Thor exhaled through a smile and curled his hands into fists. The clouds rolled toward him like a stampede of beasts heeding his call. He screamed, and lightning came down a solid wall around him.

When it retreated seconds later, the illusion of Loki was hard, and his skin flushed a deep blue.

“Come take me, king.” His voice was rough, and once he spoke the illusion dissolved.

Thor turned in the direction of the palace and jumped.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

Loki was already open and ready when Thor landed. All he had to do was let Loki undress him and slide in. It was everything he dreamt of for a hundred years, more than he knew how to take. He would need this over and over until the end of time.

His back was bleeding, he knew, Loki wasn’t bothering to control himself and neither was Thor. Gentler touches could wait, this was a show of force. Claim, conquest, victory.

Loki’s legs were hitched high up his side to the point that he was almost bent in half. Thor let his head drop to look between them, groaning as he saw his cock shining where it was sliding in and out of Loki’s body.

Thor stared into Loki’s eyes and let electricity roll across his skin from head to toe. When it rolled through Loki’s body and over his cock his entire body seized and he screamed as come splashed up his body, a drop even landing on his chin that Thor was more than happy to lick up.

The sky churned outside, lightning crashing down every few seconds and all sounds drowned out by the unending thunder above. Distantly Thor knew he should rein it in, somewhere that remembered common decency for his own people. Then Loki squeezed his cock and bit into his shoulder and any thought of restraint was put swiftly out of mind.

His cock throbbed and he came as far into Loki’s body as he could get. The storm in his blood lashed out and torrential rains began to fall on the kingdom.

Loki smiled up at him, Thor’s blood bright red on his overly sharp nails.

The storm wasn’t going to stop any time soon. People would be forced to stay in or else be swept away by Thor’s power. Only a fool wouldn’t understand what the storm was, and Thor allowed a dark, possessive thrill to sing inside his heart. Let them know.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

They lay side by side, calm and sated after centuries of waiting.

Thor turned and looked at Loki, his eyes closed and face unguarded. The sun broke through the clouds and fell across Loki’s skin. It make Thor’s mouth water with the urge to taste him.

“I told you how long I’ve wanted you, but how long have you wanted me?” Thor asked, his throat hoarse.

Loki smiled. “Since the war. When I tried to kill you, and knew I’d fail.”

Thor laughed, his hand reaching out and finding Loki’s hand waiting for him.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

The sheets had to be tossed once they saw the stains. Blood and come and sweat. Loki seemed proud of himself. Thor vowed to ruin Loki’s bed before the end of the week.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

 

A feast was had to celebrate Thor’s mastery of his power, and to announce his upcoming coronation. Loki didn’t wear a glamor and Thor hoped he knew how beautiful he was. A decadent blue god dressed in green and gold, sitting in a place of honor at Thor’s right side.

Thor was the only heir to Asgard, but there would be two kings when the time came.

**Author's Note:**

> named for a verse from "in a week" by hozier bc it's a perfect song. i really like writing in this style, with vignettes that build up the larger story. i hope you enjoyed this :D


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